Investigation into optimization of support elements associated with tunnelling for civil infrastructure

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Canada has a vast underground infrastructure worth billions in terms of tunnelling works for access to natural resources, and civil infrastructure. Investment in Public Infrastructure has been declining as a percentage of Gross Dometic Product (GDP), hovering just below 1.5%. Population and economic growth are combining to increasingly overburden Canada's public infrastructure. All of these factors suggest that engineers are tasked to do more with less and must be forced to optimize their designs in order to provide sustainable, cost-effective solutions. Tunnelling through weak rock as part of civil infrastructure works (i.e. tunnelling roads, railways, intakes for power stations etc.) presents unique challenges to the engineer, as misjudgments in the design of support systems can lead to costly failures if under-designed or high tunnelling costs if over-designed. Currently, a true optimized and mechanics-based design process for the various tunnel support technologies is not fully developed. The objectives of this research are: 1. To optimize civil infrastructure tunnel support design; balancing safety & cost, 2. To advance the science of proper geomaterial characterization through fieldwork in order to obtain reliable strength estimates, 3. To isolate the behaviour, influence and effect of specific support elements within a multi-element, interactive tunnel support system, and, 4. To improve upon analytical and modelling tools for weak geomaterials and support systems. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that limited research to date has explored the temporary tunnel support system as a composite, interactive scheme in order to obtain a true optimization of the temporary support structure based on a composite, interactive support performance. This research will help support the quality and level of public infrastructure that Canada requires in order to keep pace with the demands of an ever-changing world; a world of competitive of increasing urbanization and infrstructure expansion. Modern, strong and innovative infrastructure is an essential building block for Canada's competitiveness and long-term prosperity for Canadians. This research (with national and international collaborations) will be of national significance and impact.